CBI closes case against Meira ex- secy

The agency had then charged him for amassing wealth more that his known source of income.

More than two years after the CBI named A P Pathak, the former secretary of Lok Sabha speaker Meira Kumar, in a disproportionate assets case, the agency has closed the case citing “insufficient evidence” to prove the charges.

Sources, however, said junior officers of the agency wanted to go ahead with the filing of the chargesheet, but were overruled by the senior officer, following which CBI director Ranjit Sinha gave the clearance to file the closure.

Considered close to several high-profile central leaders, Pathak had claimed innocence when the CBI first conducted a raid at his premises in September 2011.

The agency had then charged him for amassing wealth more that his known source of income.

The agency had also claimed it found several incriminating documents that included movable and immovable properties owned by Pathak and his family members.

The CBI raids had caused embarrassment for the UPA government, which ordered Pathak to be removed from the post of Kumar’s personal secretary.

During the two-year probe, the agency recorded Pathak’s statement in which he is said to have produced documents supporting his

However, CBI sleuths punctured his claims and wanted to move ahead with the prosecution. Pathak’s role in the purchase of security equipment for the Parliament was also under

The probe had also established Pathak owned more than two dozen bank accounts in his name and in the name of his family members, which also had fixed deposits worth Rs 35 lakh.

Pathak had joined as personal secretary of Kumar in June 2011 — his second stint in the Parliament. His name was cleared despite a CVC inquiry pending against him, a CBI official claimed. Pathak, an official of the 1984 batch of the Central Engineering Service, hails from Bihar.

He had earlier served Union Minister Sriprakash Jaisawal, and Shiv Sena leader Manohar Joshi, when he was the Speaker of the Lok Sabha.

According to the CBI, Pathak came under its scanner following several complaints against him while he was serving with the National Highways Authority of India and the Ministry of Finance, where he was director, COFEPOSA.

Pathak had claimed he was being victimised because he had filed a complaint against a builder who later complained to the CBI.

He was booked under various sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act and the IPC.